Research

Six entrepreneurial startups were selected as the top enterprises at the 13th annual Charlotte Venture Challenge, conducted by UNC Charlotte’s Ventureprise and the Charlotte Research Institute. They will receive more than $60,000 in cash prizes.
Thirty-six early-stage ventures were among the finalists from 100-plus entrants from across the Southeastern United States for the 2014 edition of the challenge. The 36 teams conducted three-minute pitches to corporate and investor judging panels at the finals, held in the UNC Charlotte PORTAL Building.

Congressman Patrick McHenry (10th District) and Brett Keeter (’99), congressional district director and former UNC Charlotte Alumni Association president, recently visited campus to learn more about UNC Charlotte’s Data Science and Business Analytics initiative.

In addition to meetings with Chancellor Philip L. Dubois and Bob Wilhelm, vice chancellor for economic development and research, McHenry and Keeter observed several project demonstrations related to Big Data at the University’s Charlotte Visualization Center.

Oscar de la Torre, an assistant professor in the Department of Africana Studies, received a 2014 College Educators Research Fellowship from the UNC-Duke Consortium in Latin American and Caribbean Studies.
According to de la Torre, the fellowship will enable him to develop the course “Environment, State and Society in the Caribbean and Latin America.” He said the class will be transnational and comparative and will discuss issues “that are currently very controversial, such as the green revolution in agriculture or the impact of the drug traffic among Afro-descendants.”

Sanjaya Mayadunne, a doctoral student in computing and information systems (business information systems and operations management track), will defend “Competitive Store Closing During an Economic Downturn: A Mathematical Programming Approach” at 12:30 p.m., Thursday, May 1, in the Friday Building, Room 381. Cem Saydam and Monica Johar are the dissertation advisors.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) has awarded seven new research grants totaling almost $1.4 million to faculty researchers in the Lee College of Engineering’s departments of Engineering Technology and Construction Management (ETCM) and Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE).
Tara Cavalline (ETCM) and Brett Tempest (CEE) were awarded $227,000 to determine concrete material properties and other performance data to be used in design of new concrete pavements.   

Public Policy doctoral student Ada Uche recently received a 2014-15 American Educational Research Association (AREA) Minority Dissertation Fellowship in Educational Research. As part of the writing process, Uche utilized resources provided by UNC Charlotte’s Center for Graduate Life (CGL).

In a joint press conference, the City of Charlotte, Mecklenburg County and UNC Charlotte announced a partnership for an annual reporting on homelessness issues spearheaded by the University’s Urban Institute.

The Lee College of Engineering’s Materials Characterization Lab is now in the Cameron Applied Research Center. The facility provides faculty and student researchers with analysis of advanced materials, as well as sampling services, training, shared instrument usage and expertise at an affordable cost.

The Charlotte Venture Challenge (CVC) will showcase 39 finalists selected from more than 100 startup competitors located throughout the Southeastern United States. These contenders will be introduced to investors, corporate executives and the business community at the CVC finals, Thursday, May 1.

 Craig Ogle, the Charles H. Stone Professor of Chemistry, is the 2014 recipient of the First Citizens Bank Scholars Medal. The prestigious award, presented by First Citizens Bank and UNC Charlotte, honors faculty scholarship and intellectual inquiry.